Jules Gaucher

Jules Gaucher (13 September 1905-13 March 1954) was a French Foreign Legion Lieutenant-Colonel who fought in the Franco-Thai War, World War II, and the First Indochina War, during which he was killed at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

Biography
Jules Gaucher was born in Bourges, France in 1905, and he joined the French Foreign Legion in 1931 and served in Algeria before being sent to French Indochina in 1938. He fought in the war with Thailand and with Japan in Southeast Asia, and, in 1950, he took command of a battalion during the First Indochina War. He distinguished himself at the Battle of Hoa Binh in 1951, and he had the reputation of a tough and hard-drinking soldier. On 13 March 1954, his command post at Dien Bien Phu was bombarded by Viet Minh artillery, and his prediction that the main Viet Minh attack on the base would come that night turned out to be correct. Gaucher lost both of his arms, severely injured his legs, and suffered an open chest wound during the bombardment, and he died in the hospital at the age of 48.